Internal combustion engine



March 3, 1936. J c MANT E UTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Dec. 11, 1929 III,"

anoemtoz W C. W,

SWOT mug Patented Mar. 3, 1936 UNITED STA'EEg ii ATENT OFFIE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to internal combustion engines of the kind having a chamber in which a piston makes sets of four strokes, each set comprising, consecutively, an induction, a compression, a working and an exhaust stroke of the working fluid.

The object of this invention is to increase the power developed during the working stroke by increasing the quantity of working fluid drawn into the chamber during the induction stroke; also to increase the economy in the consumption of fuel by decreasing the back pressure to the exhausting working fluid during the exhaust stroke. A further object is the provision of simple and practical means for effecting the foregoing. These means, primarily, consist of the division of the said chamber into two portions by a partition containing a valve which opens and closes communication between them and by the placing of the said partition with its valve in such a position that, at the commencement of the induction stroke, the partition with its valve, in closed condition, almost touches the piston. The said valve is in closed condition throughout the induction stroke and in open condition during the compression, working and exhaust strokes. The inlet for the working fluid connects, by means of a valve, with that portion of the chamber which contains the piston; whilst the outlet for the exhausted working fluid connects, by means of a valve, with the other portion of the chamber.

This invention is applicable to internal combustion engines in which the working fluid, en-

3') tering the said chamber, consists of a mixture of air and fuel which is afterwards ignited by means of an ignition plug, and also to that kind in which the working fluid entering the said 40 chamber consists of air alone, to which the fuel is afterwards. added by means of a fuel nozzle.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, r this invention relates to the construction, combination and arrangements of parts hereinafter described, and then sought to be defined in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, and which shows merely for the purpose of illustrative disclosure one embodiment of my invention, it being expressly understood, however, that various changes may be made in practice within the scope of the claims without digressing from my 55 inventive idea.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 represents a vertical cross. section. taken substantially online I--! of. Figure 2;

Figure 2 represents a top plan view of. the engine shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 represents a horizontal cross section taken substantially on. line 3'3 of- Figure 1;

Figure 4 represents an enlarged vertical sectional view of a detail taken substantially on line 3-4 of Figure 2 and showing a part of the valve operating means;

Figures 5 to 12 inclusive, are diagrammatic views serving toillustrate the operation of my engine; and

Figure 13 represents an enlarged perspective showing of. the cam shaft and the cams for operatingthe valves of my engine.

Referring to the drawing. 1/ and y, jointly, form the chamber into which the working fluid enters through the inlet I and leaves it. through the outlet X. P is the piston and which operates the crank shaft 1 by means of the connecting'rod' d and crank pin 6. The inlet valve a, opens and closes communication between the inlet I and the portion y. of the chamber which contains the piston P. The partition valve 1) opens and closes communication between the portions y and y of." the chamber. The valve. C opens and closes communication between the portion 1 of the chamber and the outlet X. The valves a. and c are spring-seated in the usual and well known manner, as shown in Figure l. The valve b is springseated by the spring 0 abutting the bracket o and pressing downwardly on the member at which is threaded on the upper portion b of. the valve stem, see Figures 1 and l. The valve b is lifted from its seat by means of the lever i which is fulcrumed at i and is provided with a ringshaped portion 2' (see Figure 2)- which engages the arms 12 of the member n. The valve a is lifted from its seat by the lever i which is fulcrumed at 7".. The levers i and y" are'o-perated by rods h, it, which have their lower ends threaded into poppets h, and which in turn are operated by the cams b and a, secured tothe shaft g. The shaft 9 rotates once to each two rotations of the crank shaft 1, andis driven in an; usual manner by the gears r, s, s and: T, which: are indicated by dot and dash circles. Valve 0 is lifted from its seat by its stem being engaged by the rod h, the lower end of which is threaded in a poppet h and which is operated by the cam c.

The top of the chamber is closed by a cover m which is secured to the chamber by bolts m. A cooling space It surrounds both the portions y and y of the chamber and connects with a cooling space It formed in the cover m. The uppermost portion is" of this space surrounds the portion of the cover m. through which passes the upper portion b" of the stem of the valve b. This portion b is slightly larger in diameter than the lower portion of the stem so that the lower portion, which is much hotter than the upper portion, does not touch the bore in the cover during the lifting of the valve. The cooling water enters thecooling space at I, see Figure 1, and leaves it at Z, see Figures 2 and 4. There is a threaded hole a adapted to receive either an ignition plug or a fuel nozzle, as the case may require, in the wall of the portion 11' of the chamber, see Figure 3.

It should be noted that the inlet valve a is spring-seated in the direction away from the piston P whilst the partition valve b is springseated in the direction toward the piston and that the bottoms of these valves are flush with the bottom of the partition which separates the portion y of the chamber from the portion y of the same. The piston at the end of its instroke almost touches the valves and the partition and is preferably but a paper thickness therefrom. Therefore, consequently, the suction of the working fluid through the inlet I commences almost simultaneously with the commencement of the outstroke, the induction stroke, of the piston.

Figures 5 to 12, inclusive, are diagrams supple- V menting Figure l and show the direction of the flow of the working fluid during four consecutive strokes of the piston. The operation is as follows.

First stroke (see Figures 1, 5 and 6) an outstroke; at its commencement the piston is at the top of the portion 11 of the chamber and almost touches the bottoms of the valves a and b and the partition which separates the portion 11 from the portion 11' of the chamber. The inlet valve a and the partition valve 2) are closed, but the outlet valve 0 is open. Valve a opens immediately after the commencement of the stroke and remains open during the remainder of the stroke and a charge of working fluid is drawn through the inlet I into the portion y of the chamber. Valve 0 closes towards the end of the stroke and is completely closed at the end of the stroke.

Second stroke (see Figures '7 and 8) an instroke; valve a closes shortly after the commencement of the stroke and valve b opens immediately afterwards and remains open during the remainder of the stroke and the charge of working fluid is compressed from the portion 11 into the portion y of the chamber.

Third stroke (see Figures 9 and 10) an outstroke; valve b remains open throughout the stroke and the working fluid expands and presses the piston downwardly. Valve 0 commences to open towards the end of the stroke.

Fourth stroke (see Figures 11 and 12) an instroke; valve 2) remains open till near the end and is completely closed at the end of the stroke. Valve 0 is fully open shortly after the commencement of the stroke and remains open and is fully open at the end of the stroke and does not close till the end of the following stroke, and. during this time the exhausted working fluid is passing through the outlet X from either one or the other of the portions 11 and y of the chamber. At the end of this stroke the position of the valves and piston is as shown in Figures 1 and 5.

It will now be understood that, by reason of this dividing of the chamber into portions y and y, a powerful suction occurs in the portion y very shortly after the commencement of each induction stroke and that a much greater charge of working fluid is drawn through the inlet 1' during the stroke. Also, by reason of the outlet valve 0 remaining open during fully two consecutive strokes, the back pressure against the exhausting working fluid is much reduced, especially in a high speed engine. This improvement in the form or construction of the four cycle engine not only increases the economy of fuel consumption, but also very greatly increases the power obtainable with a piston of a given diameter and stroke.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an internal combustion engine, a chamber adapted to contain a charge of working fluid, a valve-controlled inlet to the chamber, a valvecontrolled outlet from the chamber, a partition having a valve-controlled passage, the said partition dividing the chamber into a first and a second portion, a piston reciprocating in the chamber and operating the engine, the piston making sets of four strokes, means by which the first stroke of a said set draws a charge of working fluid into the said first portion, means by which the second stroke compresses the charge into the said second portion, means by which the charge expands during the third stroke and fllls both the said portions, and means by which during the fourth stroke the charge exhausts from both of the said portions and continues to exhaust from the second portion during the first stroke of the next set of strokes.

2. In an internal combustion engine a piston reciprocating in a portion of a chamber and making sets of four strokes therein, each set comprising an induction stroke, a compression stroke, an expansion stroke and an exhaust stroke, a partition separating the portion in which the piston reciprocates from the remainder of the chamber and an opening in the said partition which is closed during the induction stroke and is open continuously during the other three strokes of the set.

3. In an internal combustion engine, a chamber, a piston reciprocating in a portion of a chamber and making sets of four strokes therein, each set comprising an induction stroke, a compression stroke, an expansion stroke and an exhaust stroke, said chamber having a partition separating the portion in which the piston reciprocates from the remainder of the chamber, said partition having an opening and means for closing said opening during the induction stroke only so that the opening is unobstructed during the other three strokes of each set of strokes.

JOSEPH G. C. MANTLE. 

